The Goessel High School Sports Archive
Original Author: Brian Stucky
THE GOESSEL HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ARCHIVES was established in 2000 to preserve the history of the school in sports. Features are:
*Collections
*Historic Football Field
*Athletes in College Halls of Fame
*Links to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
*Top 100 Athletes of All Time from Marion County
COLLECTIONS. The Goessel High School Sports Archives has preserved not all, but many of the old scorebooks in basketball, football, baseball, volleyball, year-end statistics books and game films when coaches submit them. Basketball scorebooks go back to 1935. Visually, there are 16mm Black and White game films from the 1960s, Super 8 mm game films from the 1970s (transferred to VHS), VHS video, and DVDs. Some photographs, game and tournament programs, and miscellaneous items also are filed. We don't have everything, but what the school has is here in one place. Several class reunions, team reunions, and newspaper reports have made use of this collection. See Mr. Brian Stucky.
HISTORIC FOOTBALL FIELD. On September 10, 1971, The Goessel football team played in one of five games played that night in Kansas that were the first overtime football games in the United States.
Burrton defeated the home Goessel Bluebirds 22-14 in five overtimes in the first game of the season. The game was tied 6-6 at the end of regulation play. The Associated Press reported other overtime games that night. Bushton was defeated at Marquette 6-0. Altamont defeated Chanute 18-12, Pomona defeated Lebo 14-8, and Olpe defeated Gridley 12-6.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association adopted the overtime procedure for the 1971 season. Kansas high schools had held playoff games before, but to break ties, an overtime system was urgently needed. Nelson Hartman of the KSHSAA devised a system which gave each team 4 downs and 10 yards to score, and the opponents equal opportunity in alternating fashion until one team won. Kansas was the first state to adopt such a procedure. NAIA colleges did not adopt a similar plan until the mid 1980s, and the NCAA did so in 1996. Professional teams in the NFL had a "sudden death" method in which the first team in overtime to score wins, but does not give teams a fair and equal opportunity to score, which would be a true overtime procedure.
Coaches for Burrton were Leonard White and Ernie Alexander. Coaches for Goessel were Dave Smith and Chet Roberts. As the Goessel coaches were sitting in the required pre-season rules meeting, listening to the new overtime procedure, they complained to each other, "Why do we have to know this? After all, this will never happen!"
ATHLETES IN COLLEGE HALLS OF FAME
*Darlene Richert, Southwestern College, Winfield, KS (see paragraph below in Top 100).
*Judy Logback-1991, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin. Judy was a top athlete in three sports at GHS. She was part of Sub-State teams in volleyball and basketball, and in track was part of the State Runner-up teams in 1990 and 91. She was State Champion in high jump. At Beloit College, she was a star in volleyball and track, where she placed 7th in the nation in the NCAA Division III heptathlon. Judy graduated with a degree in biology and has spent many years in Ecuador working to save the rainforest. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree from Yale University.
CONNECTIONS TO KANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME.
In Wichita, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame tells the stories of great Kansas athletes and teams. Goessel has a few connections.
*Photo of Lonnie Hiebert, the only boys' basketball player in Kansas history to score 2,000 points and get 1,000 rebounds.
*The 1959 Goessel Grade School scoreboard, with the clock with hands. Used until about 1984 when it was placed in storage. Donated to the Hall of Fame in 2006, where it is on display.
*Photo of Walt Shublom by Brian Stucky. Shublom won 10 state championships in 14 years at Wyandotte, and is pictured in Stucky's book, "Hallowed Hardwood."
*Photo of John McLendon by Brian Stucky. McLendon is also in "Hallowed Hardwood" and because of his illustrious coaching career is in the National Naismith Hall of Fame.
*Engraved induction plaque of John McLendon made from the above photo.
The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is well worth a visit and is located at 238 N Mead in the Old Town section of Wichita. See the website at http://www.kshof.org/
TOP 100 ATHLETES OF ALL TIME FROM MARION COUNTY. In February 2004, The Hillsboro Star-Journal embarked on an ambitious project to collect stories from all the schools in the county of their top athletes of all time. Coaches Brian Stucky, Sandy Banman, and Superintendent and former coach Chet Roberts assembled many nominations and collected statistics. Not all their nominees made the top 100, but many did. Below are those that were selected for this tremendous honor, in alphabetical order.
PATRICK DUERKSEN-1989. Duerksen was named first team all-state basketball and played a key role on three state teams, 3rd place in 1987, 1st in 1988, and 2nd in 1989. He led the state in all classes in free throw percentage in 1989. He holds the school record for free throws in a game (14-14) and had an average of 19.9 points per game as a senior. As a quarterback, for many years he held the all-time, all-class record for passing yardage in a game, 503 yds.
TREG DUERKSEN-1997. Duerksen was a varsity basketball player for four years and led the team with 20.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He owns the school record for high hurdles at 14.6 and was the Class 1A and 2A State Champion, was 7th in the KU Relays, shares the school record in the 4x100m Relay which was 2nd at state. He formerly held the 300m hurdle record and placed 3rd at state, as well as 5th at state in high jump. Duerksen played basketball in college at Neosho County Junior College, and at Columbia University in New York. He is Goessel's first NCAA Division I athlete to play on the varsity level.
SCOTT FLAMING-1997. Flaming was a running back on the 1996 football team, which finished the season with a 9-2 record as State Quarterfinalists. His stats include 1,720 yards in a season, 34 touchdowns, 52 unassisted tackles, 113 assists, and 165 total tackles. He was named All-HOA League first team and second team All-state.
RUSS GAEDDERT-1976. Gaeddert was a three-sport athlete best known for track. He owns Goessel school records for the 440 yard (400m) dash, the 220 yard (200m) dash, and anchored the mile relay team to a state 3rd place finish and school record. He was the quarterback on the 1975 football team, which had its best record in history to that time, 7-2. During his basketball career, he was first team All-League for two years, averaging 18 points per game during his senior year. He continued running track at Bethel College.
SPENCER GOERTZ-GIFFEN-1998. Goertz-Giffen was a member of the GHS All-state tournament team and state runner-up 2A volleyball team in 1996. She played a key role in the 1997 and 1998 sub-state final teams in basketball. Her senior season she averaged 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, with a 74% field goal average.
TARA GOERZEN-2003. Goerzen was a four-year starter on the basketball team and named to the All-HOA first team three years. She scored 1,234 career points, had 304 career assists, and 340 career steals. She was a four-year starting setter on the volleyball team, holding a school record of 605 assists in a season while leading her team to the state tournament in her sophomore and junior years.
LONNIE HIEBERT-1989. Hiebert was a four-year starter on the Goessel High School basketball team as well as being named to the four-time All-HOA League first team, a two-time All-State and Class 1A Player of the Year, and 1989 Wichita Eagle all-class, all-state top five. He was also McDonald's All-American Honorable Mention. He is second on the Kansas all-class career rebound list with 1,233. He is the only player in Kansas boys' high school basketball history to score more than 2,000 points and get 1,000 rebounds. He is also fourth on the all-time list of career field goals made (910). He led the Bluebirds in three trips to state--3rd place in 1987, State Champions in 1988, and 2nd place in 1989.
LYNELL HIEBERT-1986. Hiebert played four seasons for the GHS varsity basketball team and finished his career with the Bluebirds with 932 points. He also holds the school record in discus with 146-1 and held the school shot put record.
MYRON HIEBERT-1981. Hiebert was named to the 11-man football all-state Class 1A first team in 1980 and charted 651 yards as fullback, including 80 tackles and 61 assists. In basketball he scored a game high 29 points while averaging 17.7 points during his senior year. Hiebert held the school record in high hurdles and was second at state. He also ran the 300m hurdles, had a high jump of 6-0, and shot put of 44-5.
YVETTE PETERS-1999. Peters was a setter for the Classs 2Astate runner-up volleyball team in 1996. She was a two-time serving percentage leader in the state (all classes) in 1997 and 1998. She holds the Goessel school record in the 400m at 60.6. She ran in the National NAIA track meet and was named Female Athlete of the Year at Bethel College in 2003.
DARLENE RICHERT-1974. Richert helped lead the GHS basketball team to a first-ever state tournament berth in 1974, averaging 18 points per game. She attended Southwestern College after high school, where she was inducted into the Southwestern Athletics Hall of Fame.
TRAVIS SCHMIDT-1995. Schmidt holds the school high jump record at 6-8 and was the 1A state champion as a freshman, second as a sophomore, tied for second as a junior, and fourth as a senior, competing against jumpers who were later NCAA champions and Olympians. When a 4th grader, he set a national record in the AAU Junior Olympics high jump in the 10-and under division, a record which still stands today. He was a four-year varsity basketball player, leading the team in minutes during his freshman year. He was named All-HOA League first team for three years and All-state honorable mention for two years.
VANESSA SCHMIDT-1993. A three-sport athlete, Schmidt was best known for track, winning five state gold medals and twelve total. She was a key part of the Goessel girls' state runner-up teams in 1990 and 91. She placed third twice and fifth once in the high jump at the KU Relays and still holds the Class 1A state high jump record at 5-8 1/2. Schmidt also holds school records in 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, long jump and triple jump. She was the leading hitter on a 1990 sub-state finals volleyball team. During her sophomore and junior years, she was named to the All-state honorable mention list for basketball and the second team All-state her senior year. She had 1,344 career points, averaging 15.3 per game over four years. She also charted 90 steals and 75 assists during her basketball career.
MELINDA STUCKY-2003. Stucky was a four-year starter for volleyball, breaking the school record for kills in a season with 349 and 906 kills in a career, which ranked her 10th on the all-time, all-class record list in Kansas. Stucky was named first team All-HOA League for two years, and first team All-Southwest Kansas (Hutchinson News). (The Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association did not select any all-state teams in 2003). Stucky played varsity basketball four years and was named All-HOA League first team two years, All-State honorable mention two years, and scored a school record 34 points in a regional game against Centre. She scored 1,199 career points and had 642 rebounds. She had a best of 5-4 1/4 in high jump, placed 4th in the state track meet, and placed 14th at KU Relays.
CHAD UNRAU-2000. Unrau was the first Goessel boy to win four individual medals at state, including state champion and school record holder in the 300m hurdles, second in the 110m hurdles, fifth in the 100m dash, and fifth in the 200m dash. He was also eighth in the 110m hurdles at the KU Relays. He was a starter on the sub-state finals basketball team. He was quarter back on the football team, passing for 600 yards and rushing for 600 yards in a season. He was named All-HOA League first team defensive back and played in the State 8-Man all-star game.
CHUCK VOTH-1982. Voth holds the GHS long jump record with 22-1. He was on the school record 4x100m relay team as well. He was a tailback on the football team and named All-League first team and All-state honorable mention. His stats include 2,360 career yards with 1,215 yards and 22 touchdowns recorded in his senior year. He was a point guard on the sub-state basketball team and named All-League first team. He holds the school record for assists in a game (13) and season assists (143). His career included 479 points. He is remembered as a tremendous leaper and at 5' 9" could dunk the basketball.
BOB WEDEL-1957. Wedel was a center-fielder on Goessel's best baseball team, which was ranked first in the state in 1957. He was a key player on the 1957 basketball team, the best team in history to that point, with a record of 18-2. He scored 656 career points in three years and had a 30-point game.
DON WEDEL-1957. Wedel was a pitcher on Goessel's best baseball team, ranked first in the state. The team had a 10-2 record. Wedel threw 104 strikeouts in nine games. He is fifth on the all-class, all-time Kansas baseball list for strikeouts in a season. He also batted .531. He was a leading player on the 1957 basketball team, racking up a career 694 points in three seasons, including a 33-point game.
RANDY WOELK-1939. Woelk was the 1939 Class B State Champion in the mile run, with a time of 4:33.4. According to KU records, Woelk broke the KU relays record for the high school division mile run held by Glenn Cunningham by 1/10 of a second with a time of 4:31.4 and became the KU Relays champion and record holder.
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AFTER 2004: Some notable athletes.
GARRET HIEBERT-2007. One of Goessel's top quarterbacks of all time, leading the Bluebirds to a State elite 8 in 2006. Played in the 8-Man Division I All-Star game. In Weightlifting, he was the KEMFA Overall Champion in 2007. In Basketball a tough low post player able to score low against anyone. Set school record for points in a game at 44. Led team to State Tournament Final Four in 2007. First Team All-State in Wichita, Hutch, Topeka newspapers and KBCA; played in the KBCA All-Star game. In track, set Class 1A State Record in Javelin at 195-7 and school record at 198-8 with the relatively new IAAF javelin. Continued football at Bethel College and was All-American twice, placing at Nationals in Javelin in 2008 and 2009.
KORY HIEBERT-2007. Volleyball and Basketball player, 4-year varsity Volleyball. Two-time HOA All-League First Team; First Team All-State KVBA in junior year (Fall 2005) and Honorable Mention in 2006. Led team to State Tournament in 05 and Substate finals in 06. Recorded career 919 kills and 690 blocks. Continued playing at Hesston College.
CRAIG BANMAN-2009. Three-sport letterwinner. Football receiver, return specialist, and kicker. Played in the State Division I 8-Man All-Star game and the 8-Man Kansas-Nebraska All-Star game. Basketball slashing guard drove the team to a Class 1A Final Four finish in senior year (2009). In Track, he is Goessel's most outstanding boy track athlete ever, after winning a total of 6 golds at State. Competed at KU Relays in 2009. Broke 30-year old school records in the 200m dash (21.9) and 400m dash (48.29 FAT), (which was also a Class 1A State Record) and a 40- year old record in the 100m dash (10.9), along with school records in Pole Vault (13-6) and anchored the 4x100m Relay (44.26 FAT). Led the Boys team to 3 consecutive State Runner-up Trophies.
AUSTIN UNRUH-2009. One of the Bluebird's top quarterbacks of all time, leading the team to its first ever undefeated regular season, with a final record of 10-1, losing only in the State playoff quarterfinals and being ranked as high as #2 in the State. Played in the State. 8-Man Division I All-Star game. In basketball, played on two State Final Four teams, in 2007 and 2009. In track, he ran on the State Champion 4x400m Relay team.
